text: Electroplasticity was first discovered by Eugene S. Machlin, who reported in 1959 that applying an electric field made NaCl weaker and more ductile. Since then, the effect of electric fields on plasticity has been studied in many materials systems including metal, ceramics, and semiconductors. Various mechanisms have been posited to explain electroplastic effects and their dependence on materials properties and external conditions. For most materials the electroplastic effect arises from a combination of multiple mechanisms. This should not be all that surprising given that the electric fields directly affect electrons which dictate the bonding in materials and therefore all higher level phenomena such as dislocation motion, flow stress, vacancy diffusion, etc.